PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Workers on the new Memorial Bridge connecting New Hampshire and Maine have installed a concrete deck on the Portsmouth side and plan to have the sidewalks ready before Thanksgiving.

The contractor working on the bridge says the approach will serve as the entryway to a new span to the south to be put in place in January.

On the Kittery, Maine, side, four new concrete piers have been completed and some beams have been installed for four out of five spans of a new approach.

The new bridge is expected to be completed by July 2013. The old Memorial Bridge connected the two communities for nearly 90 years.